Whiskey Lullabye
by Nathan's Manna
Summary: This is a oneparter. WARNING! There is character death in this story. Please don’t hate me. I got the idea from the song, and I actually kinda like how it turned out. Please review…good or bad!


Whiskey Lullaby

Disclaimer: I don't own any of our beloved One Tree Hill characters…even though I'd love too (who wouldn't). I also don't own the song "Whiskey Lullaby" performed by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss.

Summary: This is a one-parter. WARNING! There is character death in this story. Please don't hate me. I got the idea from the song, and I actually kinda like how it turned out. Please review…good or bad!

**Author's Note: I've had this idea for several months now…since Haley left in December. It's one of the many that I've gotten while listening to some of my favorite songs, and jotted down in a notebook. I've got slight writer's block on one of my other stories, so I decided to do this one. There are three aspects to this story…the present time, which is in normal type; flashbacks which are in italics; and song lyrics, which are in bold italics…hope it's easy to follow!**

"Officials have reported that musician Haley James passed away early this morning."

Peyton couldn't believe her ears; this was a dream, right. She turned up the volume on the television.

"According to reports, fellow musician Chris Keller found James passed out on the tour bus they've shared for the past 16 months. Paramedics were called when he was unable to wake her. James was rushed to the hospital where she later died from alcohol poisoning. James was 18 years old."

Peyton put her head in her hands, unable to control her tears.

_**She put him out,  
Like the burning end of a midnight cigarette.  
She broke his heart.  
He spent his whole life trying to forget.**_

_Peyton knocked on Nathan's door, it was her day to check in on him. His drinking worried them. He hadn't been the same since Haley left. That was when the drinking started. The only time he left the apartment anymore was to get more booze._

_Things had looked up, briefly, after his trip to Texas to see her. But, the tabloids caught wind of the young musician's marriage. In usual fashion, they'd made-up a story and printed photos of Haley with Chris, accusing her of cheating on her equally young husband. She'd called, saying it was all a lie, but Nathan wouldn't believe it. He went back to drinking, trying to drown his broken heart._

"_Nathan?" Peyton slowly opened the door after there was no response. Walking into the apartment, she found him asleep in the sofa._

"_Nathan," she shook him, with an eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach, "Damn it Nathan, wake up." After several seconds of searching, she found a VERY weak pulse. "We're here for you Nathan, Haley's coming home, please, wake up."_

_Peyton dug out her cell phone, and dialed 911._

"_Tree Hill Emergency Response. Please state your emergency."_

"_It's my friend, oh God," Peyton started to cry, "he, he, he's passed out, drunk on the couch. I can't get him to wake up. And his pulse is really weak."_

"_Can you tell me your location?"_

_Peyton recited the address for Nathan's building, "Please, hurry."_

"_Paramedics are on their way. Just keep talking to him."_

_Peyton hung up and immediately called Lucas._

_**We watched him drink his pain away  
A little bit at a time. **_

Lucas listened to the report on the news, he couldn't believe his ears. Haley James, his best friend, was dead. This couldn't be happening. Chris had promised to watch her.

A tear trickled down his face as he thought back.

_**But he never could get drunk enough  
To get her off his mind.  
Until the night...**_

"_Peyton?" Lucas asked worried, he knew it was her morning at Nathan's. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" he paused, "Nathan?"_

"_You need to get over here Luke. He won't wake up."_

"_On my way."_

"_I tried to tell him that Haley's on her way home. He didn't even respond to that."_

"_Oh God, Haley, she's been trying to call him, she's supposed to be home tomorrow."_

"_I know, but I think tomorrow's too late Luke. We're losing him. Thank god, the paramedics are here. Please hurry."_

_He'd called Haley, only to get her voice mail, "Hales call me as soon as you get this, Nathan's in trouble."_

_Lucas arrived at the apartment as they were zipping up Nathan's body. He fell to his knees. Nathan was dead. Somehow he worked his way over to Peyton, who was kneeling next to the sofa, sobbing._

"_He's dead Lucas. There was nothing I could do. All I could do was watch him slip away." She her arms around Lucas, "Nathan's gone Lucas, what are we going to do?"_

"_I don't know Peyton, I don't know," he whispered._

**_He put the bottle to his head and pulled the trigger  
He finally drank away her memory.  
Life is short but this time it was bigger   
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees._**

Peyton could still hear Haley's screams echoing through the phone later that day when Lucas had finally reached her. A year later that sound still haunted her in her sleep just as much as the vision of Nathan's dead body being zipped up.

Haley had been home for a week. She'd sorted through their personal effects, taking only a few mementos. And in some twisted image in her mind of what was right, showed up for the funeral drunk off her ass.

_**We found him with his face down in the pillow.  
With a note that says I'll love her till I die.  
And when we buried him beneath the willow  
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby.**_

_Peyton was the first person to see her stumble into the funeral home, "Haley," she hissed, pulling the grieving widow aside, "What are you doing?"_

"_Attending my husband's funeral," she slurred, "What did you think I was doing?"_

"_You're drunk Haley."_

"_Score one for blondie."_

"_Haley, we're all hurting, but I don't think drinking in the answer."_

"_It worked for Nathan."_

"_Are you kidding me? The alcohol is what killed him Haley."_

"_No, it was me that killed him. I should be put away for involuntary manslaughter."_

"_What are you talking about Haley?"_

"_I broke his heart, the booze just eased the pain." The tears began to stream down her face, "I killed him Peyton, it's all my fault."_

_Peyton embraced her friend, "This isn't your fault Haley. He died from alcohol poisoning."_

"_The man of my dreams is dead Peyton, and it is my fault. He never did anything to deserve this. He loved me, and supported me. And in return, I left him to pursue my dream of music. I was selfish, and broke his heart."_

"_We're going to make it through this Haley. We'll do it together."_

"_I'll never love anyone like I loved Nathan."_

"_He was your first love, eventually you'll learn to love again."_

"_He was my one and only love. There will never be another man for me."_

_**She put the bottle to her head and pulled the trigger.  
And finally drank away his memory.  
Life is short but this time it was bigger   
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees.**_

Lucas knocked on Peyton's door, "Are you okay?" he asked when she answered.

Peyton hugged him tight, "No, I'm not. I couldn't save either of them."

"You did your best."

"But, once again, my best wasn't good enough."

"Don't you dare blame yourself. I can't lose another friend."

"You'll never lose me Luke."

**_The rumors flew  
But nobody knew how much she blamed herself.  
For years and years  
She tried to hide the whisky on her breath._**

_Lucas went searching for Haley after the funeral. He'd seen her talking to Peyton, and after hearing Peyton tell the story, he knew his friend needed help._

_He finally found her sitting at a table on the pier. A near-empty bottle of Jack Daniels sat in front of her as she played with the bracelet Nathan had given her. "Haley," he spoke softly._

"_Go away Lucas," she took a swig from the bottle._

"_Drinking isn't going to solve anything Hales."_

"_You're starting to sound like Peyton. Must be a blonde thing."_

"_I'm not the enemy here Haley."_

"_Are you sure about that Luke?"_

"_What are you trying to say Haley?"_

"_Some could say it's ALL your fault," she looked him square in the eye and continued, "I was perfectly content pretending that the arrogant SOB didn't exist. But no, you just HAD to join the basketball team. This caused him to seek out and use your best friend in order to bring you down. I tutored him so he'd leave you alone. Turned out he wasn't such a bad person and we fell in love. Yeah, that part was great, but this part, it sucks. If it weren't for you, he'd have never known I even existed, and none of this would have happened."_

_Lucas was familiar with this logic, but it still hurt, "Haley, please,"_

"_I want you out of my life Lucas," and with that she stumbled away._

_**She finally drank her pain away  
A little at a time.**_

Peyton could still remember Lucas telling her that story. He was taking Nathan's death pretty hard. Their close-knit relationship was short-lived, but that didn't change the fact that he'd lost his 'baby' brother. Even though he knew, deep down, it wasn't his fault; Lucas took Haley's word to heart. And the 'loss' of his long-time best friend was tearing him apart. His need, and want, to protect his little 'sister' had failed.

Peyton realized that, while it was true that Haley had physically died today, her spirit and will to live had died a year ago. "Lucas?"

Lucas looked up, "hmmm…"

"Do you think she finally got what she wanted?" His quizzical look encouraged her to continue, "The chance to change her mistakes with the man of her dreams?"

"With Nathan?"

"Well, yeah."

Lucas shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno."

"Do you think they're together up there?"

"I hope so. I hope that their pain is gone, and that they'll finally get to spend the rest of eternity together, as it was meant to be."

_**But she never could get drunk enough  
To get him off her mind  
Until the night...**_

Nathan sat at the table and watched her walk up. He stretched out his hand, "Hi, Nathan Scott."

"Haley James-Scott."

"Yeah, I know," he pulled her onto the bench next to him, "You're late."

"I know, I'm sorry, please forgive me. I never cheated, I swear, you've always been the only man for me."

"I missed you Hales."

"I missed you too Nathan. I was coming home…"

"Shhh…it doesn't matter now. All that matter si we're together, forever."

"I love you Nathan."

"I love you too Haley."

_**She put the bottle to her head and pulled the trigger.  
And finally drank away his memory.  
Life is short but this time it was bigger   
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees.  
We found her with her face down in the pillow.  
Clinging to his picture for dear life.  
We laid her next to him beneath the willow.  
While the angels sang a whisky lullaby.**_


End file.
